Following are the main learning objectives from the chapter:
Students should understand the basic concepts and develop the skills and dispositions necessary for careful evaluation of the media.
The Mass Media
You should be familiar with some basic concepts concerning the mass media including:
The "mass" in mass media refers primarily to the size of the audience and the technological means (e.g. radio, television, printing, computers, etc.) by which that audience is reached.
The mass media, as an institution, represents a widely varied and complex array of productive forces with an equally varied array of interests and goals, including, but not limited to, an intention to inform, entertain, and persuade large audiences.
The News Media
Students should learn to recognize the importance of context to the meaning of news. To this end, students should . . .
appreciate how stripping information from its context (e.g. through the use of "sound bites") may distort the meaning of information.
understand that the news does little to increase our knowledge when information is stripped of the complexity which would require active intelligent participation from the viewer,
recognize that the news media rarely help us to understand isolated events by examining them in larger social or political contexts.
Getting Us to Pay Attention: What Really Drives the Media
Students should understand that news media sources are predominantly commercial enterprises whose primary interests are to hold the attention of an audience for the purpose of presenting advertisements and generating ad revenue. In short, you should understand the basic relationship between ad revenue and the production of news.
Keeping our Interest: The News as Entertainment
Students should appreciate the qualitative impact on news coverage caused by the pressure on media sources to entertain the audience. To this end, you should become familiar with . . .
how the media entertain us, often by appealing to our less critical faculties. You should understand how . . .
selecting some events and excluding others, and then selecting what to report on those events, can manipulate (intentionally or otherwise) the meaning of reported information;
the selection of events is often based on the entertainment preferences of the public and not the genuine interests of the public;
important stories often go uncovered due to their complexity or critical content and how this effects social dialogue;
how various methods for emphasizing stories and parts of stories can distort the meaning of events, making events seem more or less important than they actually are;
attempts to maintain the appearance of objectivity can result in biased news coverage;
the perceived political and emotional bias of both journalists and the audience both does and does not affect fair reporting of the news;
the use of language (e.g. omitting information, using vague terminology, euphemisms, and emotionally charged words) can slant stories and influence audiences;
unsubstantiated opinions of journalists often pass as genuine news and can sometimes lead to grave errors in reporting;
technical effects (e.g. the use of music, strategic editing, camera angles) can be used to dramatize stories, making them more emotionally appealing.
Media Literacy
Students should recognize the importance of understanding the relationship between news, entertainment, and advertising. You should become familiar with the basic features of media literacy, including the asking of critical questions about the content of news media:
What message is being sent?
Can I separate the information from how the information is delivered?
What is the larger context from which the information has been selected?
What can I do with what I have heard, read, or seen?
What methods did the media use to attract my attention to this piece of information and to hold my interest?
Who appears to be best served by the way in which the story is told?
Advertising and the Media
Students should become familiar with what ads do (i.e. the basic characteristics of advertising, its purposes and influences on the media, our beliefs and our values). To this end, you should understand . . .
the basic functions of advertisements and how some ads do and do not conform to these functions; Note that . . .
many ads do not inform;
ads do not merely reflect the values of society, but contribute to their creation;
